1. Field
The present disclosure relates to recombinant microorganisms that produce glycerol, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (HP), or acrylic acid, and methods of producing glycerol, 3-HP, or acrylic acid using the recombinant microorganisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carbon emission reduction and instability caused by the surge in oil prices have been recently considered global issues, and accordingly, efforts have been made to produce fuels or chemicals via carbon-neutral biological processes in place of the existing fuels or chemicals that were produced via chemical processes using oil as a raw material.
Glycerol is a compound that is necessary for cosmetics, liquid soaps, medicines, lubricants, anti-coagulate solutions, and many different industrial applications. Microorganisms that are capable of producing glycerol in various physiological conditions are demanded in a variety of industries. Thus, microorganisms that are capable of producing glycerol in physiological conditions by which glycerol itself is used as a substrate in vivo in a part of a further complicated catabolic or biosynthesis pathway are demanded.
With regard to metabolic pathways of synthesizing glycerol, dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) produced from glucose is converted into glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P), and G3P is converted into glycerol. Dehydrogenase (G3PDH) may be involved in the conversion of DHAP into G3P, and G3P phosphatase may be involved in the conversion of G3P into glycerol.
There remains a need for alternative microorganisms with the ability to produce glycerol and methods of producing glycerol by using the alternative microorganisms.